The winners of the New Amsterdam Symphony’s Robert Black Memorial Composition Competition were announced by Principal Conductor Jonathan Schiffman following the intermission at the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra’s [NASO’s] final 2004-5 regular concert season performance, at Riverside Church. Two composers, Tom Schneller of Ithaca, NY and Joshua Feltman of Queens, NY, will compose overture-length pieces to be performed by the orchestra this coming season.

Tom Schneller’s piece is currently scheduled for performance under Schiffman’s baton at Symphony Space , Broadway and 95th street in New York City on Thursday, November 17 at 8:00 p.m. "My primary interest as a composer is orchestral music. I am thrilled that the NASO provides young composers with the opportunity to have their work performed by a full orchestra," Schneller says.

Joshua Feltman’s commission will be conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Alondra de la Parra on Thursday, February 6, 2006, also at Symphony Space. "I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with Josh again," the young Mexican conductor says. "He’s a very talented musician. I’ve worked with him as a violist and I have always wanted to conduct one of his works."

Schneller, son of a German diplomat, is a true citizen of the world. He was born in Africa in 1974, grew up in Europe and Asia, and studied in the U.S. and Great Britain. He has lived in the United States since 1992. As a child, he studied violin and piano, although he no longer performs on either instrument. Before completing a Masters degree in composition at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory in Ohio in 2001, he studied music at Sarah Lawrence College, New York, and Oxford University, England. He is currently completing a doctorate in composition with Steven Stucky and Roberto Sierra at Cornell University.

"My musical influences are mostly composers of the early to mid 20th century. I am very interested in Russian music, particularly Shostakovich and Prokofiev, the political songs and cabaret music of Hanns Eisler and Kurt Weill, and film music," Schneller says. He is doing his doctoral dissertation on film composer Bernard Herrmann.

Joshua Feltman, 31, is a member of NASO’s viola section. He also plays piano, teaches, and conducts. He will participate this summer in the Bard College conducting program The ASCAP Foundation chose him as its Leonard Bernstein fellow for the 2004 Tanglewood season, providing him the opportunity to write a new work for wind ensemble, Furbo. The Boston Globe described his music to accompany a collaborative project with experimental filmmakers as «elegant crossover style.» San Francisco Classical Review called his orchestral work Commute, commissioned by The Oakland East-Bay Symphony, a work of «real emotional power.»

At the Tanglewood Music Center, he studied with composers Michael Gandolfi, Steve Mackey and Augusta Read Thomas, and participated in master classes with Bright Sheng and Bernard Rands. He earned his undergraduate degree from the New England Conservatory, studying composition studies with Lee Hyla, and won the George Chadwick medal for outstanding undergraduate work. His chamber orchestra work An Old American Dream was the only student work performed on the 1996 NEC festival of 20th century American music and also garnered an ASCAP Young Composers Award.

In the event that either composer is unable to meet their assignment,   composer Ilari Kaila , 27, of Lake Grove, NY and Helsinki, Finland will be awarded that opportunity. A doctoral student in composition under the tutelage of Sheila Silver at the State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook, his recent accomplishments include the premiere of his composition ( Enter Oberon) for orchestra by the Avanti! Orchestra, Magnus Lindberg conductor at the Porvoo Summer Sounds Festival in Finland. in June, 2005. He studied composition at the Sibelius Academy with Olli Kortekangas and Eero Hämeenniemi from 1998-2004, and rounded his global perspective by studying Carnatic music at the Bhrdaddhvani institute in Chennai, India.

These three winning composers were chosen from a field of 19 applicants from Europe and North America. The youngest applicant was 17. NASO’s   Schiffman commented that "the quality of submissions was high and the pool of applicants deep."   Dr. Philip Lasser, of the Juilliard School, and Robert Paterson of Sarah Lawrence College also served on the panel that selected the winners.

Robert Black was the Music Director of the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 1991, returning to conduct the orchestra from time to time until his death at age 43 in 1993. Bob’s concentration on conducting rekindled his early interest in composition. In the three busy years he had from 1990 until the end of his too-short life, he devoted   a good portion of his energy to composition. Thanks to Beth Anderson and Jonathan Schiffman for administering the details of this tribute to hims.

Emily S. Plishner